Almost Time To Hit The Road

Blooming Cactus

Saguaro Blooms

Chilly Day In Oracle

All alone in our area

The time has come to pack up and hit the road. Next week at this time we'll be in Texas. 3 weeks from now we'll be close to home. With the weather forecast calling for 100 degree days by this weekend, cooler weather sounds good to me, but hopefully it will be dry.
Last weekend we went to Oracle, Arizona to see Biosphere 2. It was built in the late 80's ( with private funds) as an experiment to determine the feasability of colonizing other planets. The team of 8 lived in the Biosphere compound for 2 years, totally isolated from the rest of the world. That aspect of the experiment was a failure, but the site is now under the control of Arizona State University as a ongoing study in the earth sciences. The site has climate controlled areas ranging from tropical rain forest to desert.
The RV park is becoming deserted. It is now about 60 - 70% vacant. It's getting difficult to find anybody to golf with anymore. It's easy to get a tee time though, and the greens fees are about half of what they were a month ago. But, I'm still managing to get out a couple times a week, and my game is becoming more consistent.
Tomorrow we're going to take a drive up into the White Mountains. It should be about 20 degrees cooler up there. We haven't been up there since we spent a week in the late 90's.
The next update should be coming from Texas with some BBQ stories. Ernie

Winding Down The Winter Of 2011/2012

Cactus blooms

Oops! A little too deep

Winched out

At a shop in Sedona

Us and the view from the restaurant

Sedona, Arizona

We've got about 2 weeks to go here in Apache Junction, then we'll be heading to Austin, Texas for a few days. We'll be leaving Austin about the 30th and begin winding our way northwest. We're not sure where we're headed from there, as we have potential stops in 5 other states to visit friends. We'll figure it all out before we leave.
The last 2 weeks it's been getting quite warm with the last couple of days in the 90's. Temperatures are projected to be above 80 from here on out. We may be a little chilled when we get back home to 60's. I got out with the off road group last week for one last ride for the season. We've both been spending some time on the golf course, and tomorrow afternoon we're scheduled to play 18 with a group from the park. The forecast is for 94 degrees, so we'll see how that works.
Today (Easter) we went to Sedona. We were there 2 years ago on Easter, and found a restaurant that we like. We looked around a little, and got back in time for Joyce to watch The Amazing Race.
The park is emptying out fast with about 30% of the sites vacant now. By the time we leave, that will probably be around 50%. It's getting easier to get a walk on tee time on the golf courses, but harder to find somebody to golf with. And the greens fees are dropping fast.
Once we figure out where we're heading from Austin, we will publish our itinerary, Ernie

Baseball and BBQ

The Mariner's Future

At Peoria with Ron and Diane for the M's Dodgers Game

Storm Clouds on Sunday

Making Smoke

The finished product

We've been to a few baseball games, and will be seeing the Mariners / White Sox game tomorrow. So far I've been impressed with the Mariners hitting. If the pitching holds up, they could make some ripples in the division.
We barbecued ribs and chicken for 138 of our closest friends here at the park today. All went well, and the response was positive. Quite a few folks told me it was the best BBQ they ever had. We were pretty organized, as we had everybody served in about 25 minutes.
The weather's been a little strange lately. We went from the mid 80's last week to the upper 50's for a high yesterday. Thundershowers with snow in the Superstitions over the weekend. Tomorrow we'll be back to the mid 70's, and by Friday we'll be back into the upper 80's.
Kristin is coming in for the weekend on Friday. She's never been here before, so we'll be doing a little sightseeing and probably a short hike. She heads back to Austin Monday morning. Things will slow down a little then with only the BBQ for about 30 scheduled for April first.
Our rough plan is to head out sometime around the middle of April to the first of May. If we go to Austin as planned, we will get home between the first and the middle of May. With a little luck, it will be dry enough to play golf when we get home. Ernie

Warming Up Rapidly

With the arrival of March came increased daily temperatures with highs moving into the 80's. It cools down rapidly when the sun sets, and we've still been running the furnace in the mornings. There have been a few days (like today) when we will be in the 60's for our daytime high. We liken that to "Summer In Seattle" weather.
We are both just getting over the colds that we seem to get every year about this time. They came at a bad time as we have had company for the past week or so. Ron and Jan were down last week (Auburn, Wa.), and Ron and Diane are here this week (Tulsa, OK). We had everyone over on Sunday for a BBQ. Ron and Jan headed home yesterday (Tuesday), and Ron and Diane will head out on Sunday. Ron and I went to see the Mariner's / Reds game yesterday at Peoria. The temperature was in the mid 80's. We made a stop at one of the casino's on the way. We will all be going to the M's / Dodgers game on Saturday.
We took a short hike on Monday, and may take another short hike tomorrow. Ron has managed to come down with a cold also, so we'll leave the hiking option up to him. Unfortunately he doesn't golf because of an old shoulder injury. But I'm still getting out there 2 or 3 times a week. Joyce has been getting out as well, but not as often.
In 2 weeks I have my big Ribs and Chicken BBQ event where I will be cooking for about 100 people. Should be interesting as the most I've ever cooked for before was probably aroud 20. Then I've got one more event for friends here on the 1st of April. That will be Pork Loin for about 25. Busy, Busy, Busy.
We will probably be heading out of here sometime between the middle of April to the first of May. Most likely we will head to the Texas Hill Country to see Kristin, and meet her new (ish) boyfriend. We should be back home sometime in the first half of May. We're hoping that the weather will be decent at home, as we've become climatized!!!! Ernie

Almost Valentines Day

Another day of clear blue skies and sunshine with daytime highs in the mid 70's. It's like July in Seattle except for the fact that the sun goes down around 5:00. Here we are approaching the middle of February already. Some of the Mariners have arrived and begun workouts in Peoria, and Spring Training baseball is only 3 weeks away. And it's only 3 weeks until Ron and Diane escape the winter in Tulsa for 10 days of warmth in Arizona. At this point we are 3 months into our escape.
Golf has dominated the past couple of weeks. I've been playing 3-4 times a week, and Joyce has played about half that lately. Strange game. Just when you think that you see some improvement and consistency,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Back to reality! Overall, the improvement is there, it's just hard to recognize it sometimes.
Today (Sunday) we are going to see Neil Sedaka at one of the local casino's. Not too many performers left that we're interested in seeing, so when one does come along, we try to go. We're anticipating a performance similar to the Paul Anka concert we saw a couple of years ago.
We've missed the Thursday hike the past 2 weeks because of golf conflicts. I (we?) intend to get back into the hiking routine this week. And with that should come more pictures to share on the next blog episode. So until next time, bundle up and stay dry.................Ernie

Catching Up At The End Of January

Clayton, Our Leader. He always gets us back.

Somewhere out in the wilderness

Moses Lake'rs Mike and Joyce (a.k.a. "the other one" or "Sr.")

A couple of shady characters, Ernie & Joyce (a.k.a. Jr.) at "Al's Place" (speakeasy)

We're getting bad at updating the blog, as this life is becoming "normal" and maybe not quite as new and exciting as in years past. Not that we're getting bored with it, but just more used to it. So, all of the new things (friends, golf, hiking, off roading, socializing, etc.) are now becoming a regular part of our lives, so we don't feel the need to blog as often. But, we will try to make an effort to update on a weekly basis.
The past couple of weeks have found us hiking the back country on Thursdays, golfing a couple times a week, taking the occasional drive, and socializing. Joyce will be joining the Ladies golf group on Wednesday (tomorrow), and I will be playing on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. That may be overdoing it, but we'll see. We went to a very rustic golf course on Sunday with a couple from Nampa, Idaho who are also newcomers to the game, and had a great time.
Last night there was a 1930's themed cocktail hour and dinner in the park hall. We had a good time, and got into the spirit by dressing for the time period. The park is divided into 4 sections, with each being responsible for providing entertainment, hosting the weekly meetings, etc. for one month. Our quadrant has the month of March, and we're getting organized for our main event which is going to be a Southern BBQ. I kind of volunteered to be in charge, and cook ribs and chicken. We anticipate serving about 125 people, so it will be a challenge!!
Our White Sulfur Springs, Montana friends ( Tary & Wayne ) arrived in Apache Junction over the weekend, and will be staying nearby until the 1st of March. They're coming for dinner this afternoon, and we'll be doing salmon on the grill.
It's only a month until the Spring Training Baseball games start again, and we have tickets for 3 games. Ron and Diane (friends from Tulsa) will be out for 10 days, begining on the 3rd of March, and we'll be taking in a couple games then. The baseball is great, but there are so many other things to do! I had planned to get a non resident fishing license this winter and get into that a little, but I haven't even been over to the Big 5 store yet. ( this is not whining )
The weather has been great, with temperatures in the 70's. Soon we should be hitting the 80's with overnight lows around 50. I think that we've had a little rain once or twice in January. So until next time,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Stay Dry, Ernie

Back In The Desert Again

The "home away from home" with new window coverings

Stock tank for cattle and wildlife

Old abandoned gold mine

The starting point for the hike

Taking a break along the trail

We got back to Apache Junction on the 30th of December just in time for a 70th birthday party for our Moses Lake friend Mike. We didn't get back to the RV park until well after dark. All survived in our absence.

Monday January 1st found me on the golf course for another humility lesson. Just when you think things are going well, reality jumps up to knock you back down. The good thing is that "there's nowhere to go but up!!" Tuesday we had sun screens installed on the motorhome, and Wednesday I went with the 4 wheeling group for the day into some old Arizona gold mining country. It was hot and dusty, and no gold laying around on the ground. Thursday we went for a 6 mile hike into the back country with the hiking group. We were all glad that we didn't go any farther than that. Thursday night was my first ever win at the Hand and Foot (card game) tournament. Friday found me back on the golf course with the golf group. There was improvement over Monday's outing.

Saturday we took a drive to Winkleman, Arizona to check on Georsetti's Grocery. We had gone there last March, and were curious if they were still operating. They are celebrating their 100th anniversary. The store was started by the grandparent's of the current operators, and hasn't changed much. Pretty cool.

Now we're up to date again, so "stay tuned for next week's adventure"..........Ernie